Author: Carlo

I actually enjoyed the play reading, especially observing the emotion and actions the actors were undertaking to perform what the script says.

The timing of the play reading was what most threw me off. I was just getting out of Chemistry before we had to rush to the ferry. We managed to make it just in time for the reading to start.

I will admit that I didn’t thoroughly read the plot of the story beforehand. However, I ended up becoming interested in the story because it felt relatable and different from the what we were going to beforehand. We’ve gone to Operas, Dances, and Musicals, but a playreading is something I’ve never done or bothered with. Despite being late at night, I tried with as much effort as possible to listen and understand the plot. I didn’t even try to nitpick all the small mishaps the actors and actresses exhibited. I was more interested in how he story would play out and how the readers would emulate the emotions and nuance in the speech. I would listen to another play reading, but only if I was genuinely interested.

Dances, to me, are exhibitions of coordination, grace, beauty, and acquired skill. I’m not saying that all dancers must meet this abstract expectation, but That’s what I go to dances to see, and what is common in my small perception of the performing arts.

That’s why I found this dance to be so strange, but not completely appalling. There was definitely an air of practice, skill, and powerful messages, all of which is traditional in dance art, but I did notice that there was also an effort to stray away from ortholithic presentations of body movements.

In each section, the dancers seemed to “do their own thing” more than following the music. Each dancer had a specific role, but it wasn’t that perceptible. I had a difficult time ascertaining the purpose of each movement, the message the performance was supposed to convey, and what I was supposed to feel. That differentiated the dance for me.

As someone who likes organization, predictability, and closure, this dance did not satisfy any of those. The music would end, while the dancers would continue to make movements. The dancers would not coordinate their movements with the rhythm. It’s not a bad performance, by any means, but I was extremely confused.

Overall, I felt confused by the performance. I did not understand what was happening, and if I don’t understand, it is much more difficult for me to follow what is going on. I do appreciate the tremendous effort that the dancers put into their performance, regardless of the audience’s perception of them.

My perception of art seems to change with every group of artists I see, hear, and talk about. As I get to know more artists and people who show much interest in it, I tend to see very little in trends, and that’s how it should be.

Richard Stremme was interesting to me because he followed a different path than most people. As a student, anyone who doesn’t follow a “Pre-Med -> Medical School -> Hospital” schooling approach is different. However, unlike my parents, I’m not appalled by straying away from that path; in fact, I am more intrigued. Having parents that immigrated here meant that I was exposed to very few “viable” ways of making it in the “New World.” I don’t understand why parents were so fixated on that, but I think it plays a huge impact on the culture of different groups of people.

Back to Stremme. I really enjoyed his paraphernalia, especially the comics, home-made pins, and the various albums. I was, of course, born in an era without much big record disks, so I was intrigued by that. I also liked the fact that he was able to communicate his journey through the arts in a way that didn’t cost him his livelihood; I perceive many artists to be sacrificing their financial security in the pursuit of “happiness,” but it seems to me that he is happy where he is and has no regrets of what he has done so far. He became a successful artist not because he sold huge record labels, but because he made his own living and was happy doing it.

Society places these concrete expectations of “good job, good money, good life,” when this is simply not true. People like simple and often hasty generalizations that lead to an “easy way” to success, but clearly does not work. Money is only so powerful because we all buy into the system. We all need food, and with that comes a profound dependence on money to survive, and thus, to live. Most of the things we see are made with and bought with money. We depend on a bunch of digits on a screen, a plastic RFID Chip card, or composite mixes of paper and cotton to create our livelihoods.

That part has nothing to do with Stremme. I just found his creations very interesting. Art that tries to be different from “mainstream” art is also very cool, and very “hipster.”

Carlo Rafael M. Baria

HON121

When talking about “high art,” opera definitely comes to mind. People in custom-fitted suits, shiny, sparkling and elegant dresses, and seats of varying prices often ranging from tens to thousands, and more. I have never been to an opera before, and this was my first experience, especially when doing so with my class.

When watching operas on TV, I never imagined I would like to sit there. I don’t really appreciate the extremely nuanced speech of the performers, but I do admire their dedication and extent of talent because I know I can’t reach those high notes at all. When Musetta, for example, would reach the higher octaves, it gave me chills, especially if it was a notable part of the plot (if I could understand the plot, that is). The audience would gasp, laugh, or make some sort of gesture to show their appreciation.

That brings me to the next part of my evaluation of the Opera experience. The story itself was difficult for someone like me to understand, but many definitely do. Just as doctors and nurses are expected to know almost every part of the human body, Opera fanatics should be informed in the Opera they are going to.

However, there is a certain air of snobbery that I felt throughout the theatre, which is to be expected from New Yorkers and even worse, Opera fanatics. I myself was extremely new to the Met Opera House, and wouldn’t know what to do without asking a friend. Having someone shout “BE QUIET, WE’RE TRYING TO WATCH THE SHOW” before the show even started is extremely off-putting and doesn’t do any real good for anybody. You just shouted “Be Quiet,” which is innately hypocritical.

I see the value in Operas from a macroscopic perspective: they give meaning and an outlet for the artists in our society to express themselves, similar to the other arts. But along with that comes this air of arrogance and exclusivity that many artists seem to yearn, but try to mask from their outward-looking intentions. Doctors, Engineers, and Lawyers also exhibit this aura, but because they have worked extremely hard to do so, and with real, physical consequences if they don’t do their job. As an opera-goer, you can’t turn people away just for one unpleasant thing they do. The exclusivity or closed nature of many arts (especially the lack of information given to people who aren’t so informed) only works to create this pedestal that the artists wish to be placed on. Not only does it make people hate art, but it completely removes any real value in how I think art should be seen: an open, carefree, and inclusive to all, lest it is thrown away in times of crisis.

Seeing plays is something I don’t usually have the time or motivation to do, so being “forced’ to go to this play for free is a step in that direction.

The city was bustling as always, and it was raining. In addition, there were problems with the 1 Train and thus we had to take a different train to get directly to 50th street, which made Lisa a much more useful asset for getting to this unknown theatre.

The stage was traditional for me. I’ve seen it in different shows like Annie and other city-based musicals. I took a good picture of varying filters and exposures in order to get a more realistic view of the stage.

I was astounded(but nobody else was) that we were not allowed to record any videos or take pictures of the actual play. Just not having the freedom to re-experience the play myself or as memories are new to me. I always thought that video recording like that was not covered by Intellectual Property.

The actual play what extremely cynical yet uplifting. While it definitely “sucks to be me,” Avenue Q attempts to put a positive spin on the situation by talking about finding our purpose.

However, I did have some criticisms of the plot, and possible holes in the story. The ending, in particular, felt rushed or lacked creativity. Most of the play was spent on character exposition and explaining the conflict, but towards the end, there was not much substance or cohesion. Suddenly the group wanted to build the monster school, but there was no climb or substantive events that would lead to the climax. That part of the play didn’t seem like it was well thought-out.

Overall, the entire play was enjoyable. I did not regret having to go to the city on a Sunday afternoon.

Of all the presentations, I took a hearkening to Yoseph’s presentation of Jean-Michel Basquiat. I was particularly intrigued about the interactions between them and my presentation of Andy Warhol.

Two artists, who were different in their artwork yet shared a passion for art, met at a restaurant. Basquiat had shown Warhol his work and Warhol, in turn, was impressed by the “brilliance” of the work. They collaborated to create more works, with the intention of preserving the original intentions of Basquiat. Warhol an Basquiat were both prominent in the 1970’s and 1980’s, which was a time ripe for neo-expressionism and even street art.

Yoseph’s presentation was interesting to me because I felt that he really researched his artist and was genuinely trying to find out more information about Basquiat, and in the process, became authentically informed. I also learned how Basquiat’s style became unique and distinguishable from other artists. I felt that Yoseph’s article was not only informative but also inviting enough to understand even from a non-artist’s perspective.

Both Warhol and Basquiat became popular artists today. They both started out doing unconventional things, yet they succeeded because they were expressing themselves, while not trying to create an “elitist” veil around their work. The irony is that their work now goes for millions of dollars, rather than being widespread.

When looking at museums to explore independently, I didn’t have anything particular in mind. I wanted to go somewhere unique, but not too difficult to commute to. I wanted to go somewhere exquisite and mind-blowing. But after visiting some other museums, I felt like what really differentiates these museums is not the art; it’s the way the art is presented. I ultimately decided on The Whitney because it was relatively easy to discover and close to some popular spots in downtown Manhattan.

When I first entered the museum, I was immediately confused as to what to do. I just wasn’t used to that type of entrance; everyone was bustling about, looking at the bookstore, getting tickets, or chatting in the Untitled restaurant. I was even kindly told to put my bag into Check-in, and proceeded to try and explore the exhibitions; I found that only half of the exhibitions were even open.

Before talking about the different floors, I found that the staircases for the -1 floor and the ground floor were unique. They contained a bunch of ragdoll-children hanging or climbing a rope. I really liked how different it looked compared to the rest of the art.

 

I visited Floor 6(the protests) and 8 (the Calder exhibitions). I really enjoyed looking at the Floor 6 exhibitions because there was so much rich historical and political background context to learn from. Coming from someone who has had no chance to see what that era of American society was like. I enjoyed reading the background text that lies beside every painting/sculpture/video/mural.

A lot of the conflict I experienced with this exhibit was the painting of complete Black. I don’t understand art that just tries to be too symbolic. There has to be some concrete; a physical aspect I could connect with. On the other hand, the portrayal of just a bunch of dead war soldier bodies was so striking in how it just depicted a way of protest.

I took away a lot from Floor 6 from The Whitney. That floor held so much context in American history and politics, most notably the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Korean War. Each exhibit seemed to portray a different part of the time, a time where most kids wouldn’t have context, and many adults (or elderly) would have too much of.

When most people, mainly tourists, think of New York City, they tend to think of the food, theatre, and the glorious skyscrapers. When people think of the boroughs, they tend to imagine the Ferry, the aforementioned skyscrapers of Manhattan, and not much else. That is why, to me, I never thought Brooklyn had much in it until I went to the Brooklyn Museum. Although it was a mandatory trip, I didn’t think it was a completely worthless trip that I could have used to do important college work, but I did have some things to say about the art.

 

First, I wanted to talk about the entrance. Entrances are important in that they give the visitor such a first impression of the whole place. It’s akin to the appetizer; the curators give enough eye candy for the unknowing guest while keeping the actual goodies a secret. In the Brooklyn Museum, the visitor (us) is visited by a simple yet elegant curtain-type walkthrough, where walking through the pearls is one aspect of art that is tangible.

Now, to the actual exhibitions. Before that, we went to an auditorium, where the CAO greeted us and told us more about Seminars 1-4. It seems so far away, but then I remember that it’s the next 4 semesters I’m taking.  Joe told us that taking pictures was advisable, but without Flash. I didn’t really understand why Flash was so important, but after some quick Googling, I quickly learned why.

My group decided to visit exhibitions we were appealed to the most. We started on the floor where the auditorium was, to help expedite the Macaulay process. This floor contained the “mainstream” European art, with a touch of Ancient Egyptian and all-women art. I had been to Florence and many Tuscanian museums already, so many of the art styles did not surprise me. However, they looked elegant as always, with the “bourgeois” flare that these Western paintings and sculptures always demonstrate. In addition, I found that many of the American paintings were similar to European ones as well, which definitely reflects how America inherited a LOT of its cultural traditions since its inception.

Our group found the other exhibitions to be somewhat “boring” in a more relative sense. One of the few things that intrigued us were on the top floor, especially the pair of paintings of Obama and the US Flag. That was purely a political reaction to the election in 2016, and clearly, shows a message the artist wanted to convey. It’s an interesting way to show emotion as well.

 

I’ve always viewed art as something that can convey a message, and the clarity and ease of communication of that message depend on the author. It’s what differentiates art from other forms of communication; writing is, most of the time, very direct. Language is supposed to be simple so that everybody could understand it, and translators exist.

The Blue exhibit was less than what I was expecting. I felt like the museum just put together a series of items with ‘blue’ in it, but without further purpose. my critiques could just be a part of my naturally critical nature, and it may be out of place (I don’t have any proficiency in art.. at all) but nonetheless, my opinions are there. I did like the blue-neon message quote.

 

 

Overall, museums are still not my place for leisure. I don’t think this museum changed my mind or really changed my perspective on art in NYC. However, I do commend the efforts that people make to showcase different art forms, and I do understand its importance. Art may just be not for me.

 

Carlo Rafael M. Baria

Macaulay Class of 2021